Kirby Smart is slowly but surely catching Nick Saban.
Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban is widely regarded as the gold standard
in college football. He is considered the greatest college head coach in history, and Kirby Smart is working to catch up to him.
Saban has won seven national championships throughout his career, meaning Smart still has a significant distance to cover in that area. However, there are other ways Smart can start to close the gap and become part of the conversation about being on the same level as Saban. In fact, Smart achieved something just last week that Saban was never able to accomplish.
Georgia football secured their place in he 2024 SEC Championship game this past weekend after a day filled with unexpected results across the SEC. This marks their fourth consecutive appearance in the championship game, a feat that Saban never accomplished.
Saban was only able to reach the SEC Championship game in three consecutive seasons once, from 2014 to 2016.
Not only has Smart and Georgia reached the title game for four consecutive years, but this marks the seventh time in the last eight seasons. UGA also made it from 2017-2019, tying the record set by Saban and Alabama. After missing the SEC Championship game for one year, Georgia has now surpassed anything Saban achieved.
The most impressive aspect of this run is that Georgia accomplished it in the first season without divisions in the SEC. Previously, critics argued that UGA’s consistent title game appearances were due to the East division’s weakness compared to the West. But Georgia silenced that claim by making the championship game in the inaugural year without divisions.
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